Taliban spokesman is captured in Pakistan

The Pakistani Taliban's top spokesman was seized by security forces in an operation near the Afghan border, intelligence officials said today.

The capture of Mauvi Omar, a high-profile figure in the Taliban, was the latest blow to the militants after the reported death of the terror group's senior leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike last week. Pakistani intelligence officials said Omar was arrested in a village in the Mohmand tribal region last night while travelling in a car with two associates to South Waziristan, a Taliban stronghold. Local tribal elders helped troops in locating Omar in the village of Khawazeo.

As the official spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, a loose alliance of 13 militant factions, Omar frequently called journalists to claim responsibility for terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

"Yes, we have arrested Maulvi Omar and he will shortly be produced before the media," said a military official.

Omar's capture was the second high-profile arrest of a senior Taliban figure this week. Police said they arrested a militant commander and close Mehsud aide who was being treated in a private hospital in Islamabad, the capital, last night. Qari Saifullah, who also has links to al Qaeda terrorists, told police he had been wounded in an American missile strike in South Waziristan. It was unclear if it was the same strike believed to have killed Mehsud.

US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is on a visit to Pakistan.